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When Alice walked through the door she stopped to shut it behind her and then she quickened her pace. She raced into the closet and grabbed a jacket and hurriedly pulled it on before going back into the bedroom and shoving her purse and phone into her pocket. She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled two quick notes and left one of them on the bed and shoved the other into her pocket. She took one last glance around the room and then she walked over to the window, pushed it open and slid gracefully out of it and landed on the ground below.
Without a backwards glance she raced to the safety of the tree cover and then sped up and moved quickly through the forest. She soon arrived at the car park of the national forest where Carlisle and Esme had said they were going to hunt and she was relieved to see Carlisle's black Mercedes parked there.
"Forgiveness is easier to get than permission," she murmured to herself and glanced around but couldn't see anyone and she couldn't sense Carlisle and Esme anywhere close. She walked up to the Mercedes and after a final glance to make sure she wasn't being watched she expertly broke into the car. She walked over and pinned her note to the wooden pole in front of the car and then she hurried back to the car, got inside and sped off.
XXX
Jasper left Alice alone for a while, choosing to sit in the living room to give her some space. He felt awful for the hard way he had dealt with her and was just staring into space when he suddenly realised something was wrong. He sniffed the air and he realised that although Alice's scent lingered it wasn't as strong as it normally was with her just upstairs. He jumped to his feet and raced up to their room and as he burst inside he knew instantly she wasn't there. His brow furrowed and he noticed the note lying on the bed. He walked over and snatched it up and read it in horror.
I'm sorry Jazz, I love you.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and angrily dialled her number and when it rang out he lifted his arm and hurled the phone angrily at the wall. It bounced and shattered into many pieces and Jasper just let a string of curse words out as he raced out of the room to find another phone.
XXX
Alice had already travelled a fair distance when her phone began to ring. She didn't bother pulling it out, knowing it was Jasper, and she had no intention of talking to him until she arrived at Forks. Every few minutes the phone rang and finally she sensed it wasn't Jasper this time, but Carlisle.
"Hello Carlisle?" she answered it without checking the display, knowing her sight would be correct.
"Alice?" Carlisle's worried voice came through the phone. "What is going on? We got your note. Why have you taken my car to go to Forks?"
"Carlisle, I'm sorry," Alice said quickly. "I had a vision that Bella has killed herself. I need to get back to Forks to help Charlie. This is our fault. If we hadn't left she never would have done this."
"Are Jasper and the others with you?" Carlisle asked.
"No, I'm alone," Alice sighed.
"Alice, why did you steal my car?" Carlisle murmured. "Surely Emmett or Rose would have loaned you theirs?"
"I kind of had to sneak out," Alice whispered.
"Sneak out?" Carlisle frowned. "Why?"
"Jasper sort of forbid me to go," Alice confessed. "He would have stopped me if he heard the car."
"Oh Alice," Carlisle sighed. "Jasper doesn't know you've gone?"
"I'm sure he's worked it out by now," Alice admitted. "He's been trying to call me for the last hour. I left him a note."
"You left him a note?" Carlisle echoed and Alice could detect a hint of amusement in his voice. "Okay Alice, if you feel this is what you need to do, keep going. Offer our condolences to Charlie. Please, keep in contact. Esme and I will be back at the house in a couple of days."
"Thank you Carlisle," Alice whispered and disconnected the call and then shut her phone off so Jasper wouldn't keep trying to call her.
XXX
When Alice reached Forks it was just going dark and she stopped the car across the road from Charlie's house. She let out a soft sigh and then got out of the car and walked to the door. She knocked but after a few moments it was obvious there was no one at home. She guessed that Charlie was probably being comforted by friends or maybe already organising the funeral and although she could have searched the town for his scent she decided just to wait until he got home.
She let herself in and before she could help herself she had drifted upstairs to Bella's room. As soon as she walked into the room her friend's scent overwhelmed her and she walked over and sank down onto the bed. She flipped through her visions quickly in the hope of seeing something that might have changed Bella's future, something she had been doing the entire trip but there was nothing but blackness. She glanced around the bedroom then and noticed it was a lot messier than her friend's room normally was.
"Oh Bella, what did we do to you," she whispered sadly. She knew the ache she could feel was grief but without being able to cry there was no way for her to let it out. She had a feeling the ache would be with her for eternity. She suddenly heard footsteps approaching the house, human steps she could tell.
She quickly jumped to her feet and raced downstairs, wanting to be there when Charlie opened the door. The door opened and someone fumbled for the light switch as Alice sniffed in confused. All she could smell was Bella's scent but she knew that was impossible. The light suddenly filled the room and Alice froze when she saw Bella standing there.
"Alice? Oh Alice!" Bella gasped and flung herself at Alice.
"Bella?" Alice whispered in shock, frozen for a moment and then she realised Bella was crying as she clung to her. She moved her arms quickly around the human and when Bella's legs gave way she lifted her easily and carried her to the couch. She held Bella in her arms as rubbed her back gently and without warning the scent of Bella's blood filled her nostrils.
As Bella continued to cry in her arms Alice bit her lip and then pressed them tightly together, trying to control the building bloodlust inside her. It became a dull ache inside her and she turned her head away from Bella to try and get away from the inviting smell.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy to see you," Bella sobbed oblivious to Alice's pain.
"It's okay Bella," Alice said tightly. "Everything's okay."
"Yes," Bella gasped dramatically.
"I'd forgotten how exuberant you are," Alice sighed and something in her tone made Bella look up at her. Bella's eyes went wide as she noticed Alice's black eyes and she suddenly remembered Alice's thirst.
"Oh, sorry," Bella murmured as she pulled back from her a little.
"It's my own fault, it's been too long since I hunted," Alice admitted. "I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today. Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"
"You saw me fall," Bella whispered.
"No, I saw you jump," Alice corrected angrily. "I told him this would happen, but he didn't believe me. 'Bella promised, don't be looking for her future either, we've done enough damage'. But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't see. I wasn't
keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella. It's just that I'm already attuned to you."
Alice shook her head slightly as Bella looked at her guiltily.
"When I saw you jumping, I didn't think," Alice sighed. "I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do nothing. And then I get here, thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up. I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have any idea what Edward….."
"Alice, I wasn't committing suicide," Bella cut her off.
"Are you saying you didn't jump off a cliff?" Alice demanded.
"No, but it was for recreational purposes only," Bella sighed but Alice just glared at her. "I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving. It looked like fun and I was bored. I didn't think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all. So if you saw me go in, why didn't you see Jacob?"
Alice just continued to glare at her, confused about why she only saw part of the story in her vision. She suspected Bella was lying to her but it still didn't make sense. Her sight confirmed that Bella should be dead yet she was sitting right in front of her. Alice knew something wasn't right.
"It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me," Bella continued to prattle on, not noticing that she barely had Alice's attention anymore. "Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?"
"Someone pulled you out?" Alice whispered.
"Yes," Bella nodded. "Jacob saved me."
As soon as Alice heard the name her eyes went wide and she suddenly sniffed the air and realised why she hadn't recognised Bella's scent straight away. Another scent lingered with hers and it was repelling and awful. Alice had never been near one of the Quileute's but it was a stronger version of the scent she had smelt the night Jacob had turned up at their prom. Now it was stronger it smelt awfully like the scent of a werewolf but she didn't see how that was possible.
"Don't be ridiculous," Alice murmured and leaned closer to Bella to sniff in again.
"What are you doing?" Bella frowned.
"Who was with you out there just now?" Alice demanded. "It sounded like you were arguing."
"Jacob Black, he's sort of my best friend, I guess. At least, he was," Bella answered and noticed Alice was nodding. "What?"
"I don't know," Alice murmured, still confused by the scent. "I'm not sure what it means."
"Well, I'm not dead, at least," Bella smiled.
"He was a fool to think you could survive alone," Alice sighed as she rolled her eyes, having forgotten how self-centred Bella could be. Of course the human would mistake Alice's distraction as being about her. "I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy."
"I survived," Bella shrugged.
"So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?" Alice asked, eager to find out more about him to either ease or support her growing suspicions.
"Jacob is strong," Bella murmured and when Alice lifted a brow for further information Bella gave it. "Well, he's sort of a werewolf. The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?"
Alice glanced at Bella in shock, her fear confirmed and she realised with her questions that Carlisle may know the truth about the Quileutes.
"Well, I guess that explains the smell," she murmured. "But does it explain what I didn't see?"
"The smell?" Bella asked, confused.
"You smell awful," Alice told her. "A werewolf? Are you sure about that?"
"Very sure," Bella nodded. "I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves here in Forks?"
"No, I hadn't found him yet," Alice muttered, trying to work out why Carlisle had never told at least her and Jasper, if not the others as well. She knew Jasper wouldn't have kept something like this from her. Something else occurred to her then, Bella had called Jacob a friend, she was obviously keeping company with the werewolves. "Your best friend is a werewolf? How long has this been going on?"
"Not long," Bella admitted. "He's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks."
"A young werewolf?" Alice groaned. "Even worse! Edward was right, you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?"
"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," Bella said defensively. "Until they lose their tempers."
"Leave it to you, Bella," Alice sighed. "Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find."
"No, Alice, the vampires didn't really leave," Bella told her. "Not all of them, anyway. That's the whole trouble. If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could, I guess."
"Victoria? Laurent?" Alice growled angrily and realised Tanya's suspicions had been right and Laurent had returned to Victoria, only it sounded like they had reunited to hunt down Bella.
"Danger magnet, remember?" Bella smirked as she pointed to herself and Alice's rolled her eyes.
"Tell me everything," Alice demanded. "Start at the beginning."
Bella explained how she had been depressed by Edward's leaving and begun to hang out with Jacob. She told her about Laurent approaching her in the clearing one day and how he would have killed her if the wolves hadn't appeared and attacked Laurent. She finished up by telling her how Victoria had been hanging around but the Quileute wolves had managed to keep Bella safe so far.
"Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?" Alice sighed when she had finished.
"That was never the point though, was it?" Bella snapped lightly. "It's not like you left for my benefit."
"Well I guess I acted impulsively today," Alice whispered, angry that Bella didn't seem to acknowledge what her family had gone through over this mere human. She also realised Jasper had been right to forbid her to come back. "I probably shouldn't have intruded."
"Don't go Alice," Bella begged. "Please don't leave me."
"All right," Alice sighed. "I'm not going anywhere tonight. Take a deep breath. You look like hell, Bella."
"I drowned today," Bella reminded her.
"It goes deeper than that," Alice murmured. "You're a mess."
"Look, I'm doing my best," Bella said defensively.
"What do you mean?" Alice frowned.
"It hasn't been easy," Bella admitted. "I'm working on it."
"I told him," Alice sighed.
"Alice, what did you think you were going to find?" Bella asked. "I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that."
"I do," Alice nodded. "But I hoped."
"Then I guess I don't have the corner on the idiocy market," Bella smirked as the phone rang. "That has to be Charlie." Bella grabbed Alice and dragged her with her into the kitchen to answer the phone and Alice frowned as she listened to Bella's end of the conversation.
"Charlie?" she said into the receiver and then her eyes widened. "Jake! I'm fine. I told you that it wasn't. That's going to be a problem."
"They aren't excited I'm here," Alice smiled as she realised the last comment was directed at her and not the caller.
"Not especially," Bella shrugged. "But it's none of their business anyway."
"So what do we do now?" Alice murmured as she put her arm around Bella's shoulder and she suddenly thought of Jasper and how angry and worried he would be. "Things to do. Loose ends to tie."
"What things to do?" Bella frowned.
"I don't know for sure," Alice sighed, knowing she had to speak with Jasper and clear things between and she also knew that she had to talk to Carlisle about Victoria hanging around near Bella. "I need to see Carlisle."
"Could you stay?" Bella begged. "Please? For just a little while. I've missed you so much."
"If you think that's a good idea," Alice whispered, part of her wanting to rush back to Jasper and sort everything out between them.
"I do," Bella nodded. "You can stay here, Charlie would love that."
"I have a house, Bella," Alice pointed out but when she saw the disappointment on Bella's face she sighed. "Well, I need to go get a suitcase of clothes, at the very least."
"Alice, you're the best!" Bella squealed and hugged her tightly.
"And I think I'll need to hunt," Alice added as Bella's close scent overwhelmed her again. "Immediately."
"Oops," Bella smiled and stepped away from her.
"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?" Alice asked, mostly serious and then decided to check her sight. "Yes, you'll be fine. For tonight, anyway."
"You'll come back?" Bella asked in a small voice.
"I promise," Alice nodded. "One hour." She turned on her heels then and hurried out the door, eager to get away from Bella's scent and to get on the phone to Jasper wanting desperately to talk to him now.